The state would reject any federal funds for abstinence-only sex education in the schools, under a bill passed out of the state House Committee on Education yesterday.

Under a similar bill, any agency receiving state money for sex education would not be allowed to teach an abstinence-only curriculum. Instead, they would be required to teach a "comprehensive" approach to sex education, including information on how to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. That bill also was passed out of committee yesterday.

"The bottom line of what these bills are saying is abstinence-only education has been shown to be ineffective and many states have rejected it. For that reason, we're making the statement that we should look at this again," said Rep. Marilyn Lee, who introduced the bill along with other members of the Women's Legislative Caucus.

By rejecting federal abstinence-only funding, Hawai'i would join 25 other states that already have done so, including Arizona, California and Massachusetts.

Hawai'i's public school system currently does not accept any federal money for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, known as Title V funds. However, the state Department of Health does accept about $161,000 in Title V money for abstinence programs, which it grants to the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii.

Hawai'i's public schools, according to state Board of Education policy, teach a curriculum that includes information about contraception and preventing the contraction of diseases, but advises students that abstinence is the best option to assure sexual health.

The DOE says it supports both bills — House Bill 329 and HB 330 — since they represent what the DOE is already doing.

"It reaffirms that we're currently teaching our children the right way," said David Randall, DOE health and physical education resource specialist.

Supporters of the bills say that their passage would send a message that Hawai'i advocates a "medically accurate" approach to teaching about sexual health.

But those who oppose the measures say that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective means to prevent unwanted pregnancies and diseases.

"The bill is saying that abstinence education is not effective. Abstinence education is still very young and there is ongoing research that is showing that there are abstinence programs that are effective," said Danny Morishige, director of the Try Wait! Program at Catholic Charities Hawai'i.

Try Wait!, which is funded by a federal grant, has presented its abstinence program to more than 10,000 public and private school students across the state, Morishige said.

"We're giving them an option. No one is claiming that it's the only option," Morishige said.

'HIGH-RISK BEHAVIOR'

Advocates for comprehensive sex education say that abstinence-only programs fail to fully educate teens about how to protect themselves from the risks of sexual activity.

"Study after study has come back showing that abstinence-only education is ineffective. It does not delay sexual activity, it does not keep teens from having sex. It has no effect," said Sonia Blackiston, director of education and training for Planned Parenthood Hawai'i.

Blackiston said Planned Parenthood is concerned that students exposed to abstinence-only education will not get the proper information of how to protect themselves if they do engage in sexual activity.

"Even though Hawai'i has a lot of teens that aren't sexually active, the ones that are are really engaging in high-risk behavior," Blackiston said. "I can say from experience, being in the schools and hearing from what kids think they know, it's quite frightening. There's a huge lack of education," she said.

But the state Health Department opposes both bills, saying they are unnecessary and that Hawai'i would lose out on the federal funding that it is currently receiving.

Marlene Lee, head of the Child and Youth Wellness Section of the state Department of Health, said that the state has been receiving abstinence-only funding for the past 10 years. The state grants that money to the Boys and Girls Club to fund its abstinence program.

"Even if it is abstinence-only, they can get the other messages from other sources," Marlene Lee said.

She said the Health Department has other programs that deal with sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS education and outreach.